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Council approves some marijuana zoning

Commercial buildings in Lawton could become growing and processing facilities and dispensaries for medical marijuana under a decision made Tuesday by the City Council.

The action comes as Lawton and municipalities across the state handle the ramifications of voter action that legalized the use, growing, processing, dispensing and researching of marijuana for medical purposes. For cities, that means dealing with where such facilities will go, a process that already has drawn lawsuits in other parts of the state as some entities challenge cities for putting restrictions on locations — something State Question 788 specifically says cities may not do.

In Lawton, that means city planners have analyzed existing zoning categories and their specific uses, then matched the commercial applications of medical marijuana to the most suitable zoning. That has meant commercial and industrial zoning for those four uses, to include indoor and outdoor growing.